Advice on length of rod

[Bad Drift]

Hi - New member with a quick question. I love fishing small streams and creeks in the coastal range for cutts. I am looking to upgrade my 3 weight and can't make a decision on the length. The rod I am looking at comes in 7'7" and 8'4". I would normally say the 7'7" is a no-brainer for this type of fishing but I also foresee using it on the Metolius, Crooked and Fall. Any advice would be most appreciated.

[mgdfly]

Go with the longer one, it's more versatile, and you will have better line control. That is what Flyfishing is all about. the shortest rod I own is an 8'6" fiberglass 6wt, second is an 8'9" 3wt LL Sage. Everything else is 9' or longer.Might be different if I lived on the other coast, but out west, longer rods have few drawbacks. I fish 9footers on small creks all the time, and seldom do I wish I had a shorter one.

[clarkman23]

Hi - New member with a quick question. I love fishing small streams and creeks in the coastal range for cutts. I am looking to upgrade my 3 weight and can't make a decision on the length. The rod I am looking at comes in 7'7" and 8'4". I would normally say the 7'7" is a no-brainer for this type of fishing but I also foresee using it on the Metolius, Crooked and Fall. Any advice would be most appreciated.

get out and cast different lengths. Some people prefer longer rods, others prefer shorter rod, it's just a matter of personal preference. that said, I think that most people who fish the D and Met a lot fish long, fast action graphite rods...

Personally, I prefer shorter rods and feel that I have more control and accuracy than with my longer rods. I have a 7'9" (the longest I fish these days is 8') glass rod that's my goto rod for the Deschutes and the Met. (It also happens to be my favorite rod for float tubing)...As far as small creeks, etc., I usually go with my 8' Steffen...again, much of it has to do with what you're most comfortable with...kinda like the whole argument between graphite vs. glass vs. cane...there is no one right answer...

~Randy

[TroutGirl]

I can think of a few places on those waters where I need the reach of a longer rod. Yes, I can easily cast the shorter one. When I'm getting a nice drift and I'm in behind a log or a bush and I need the rod to reach across the junk and keep my fly drifting drag free, that's when I need the longer rod.

I too thought I would go for a really short rod, but I found fishing many of the small waters, the trick is to fish around the logs and junk, and for that I needed it a bit longer. I did try a 6', a 6'6, and 7'. I think maybe a 7' 6" would be do-able.

The other thing, is I found that roll casting greatly decreased with a shorter rod. I found roll casting impossible on a 6' and 6'6". And if I'm in heavy alder or willow, there is not room for a back cast or a steeple, the only option is to roll it.

So, my suggestion is see if you can roll cast. A shop will let you put a reel and line on most rods. Take it out and see if you can roll cast. That is the real trick.

[stillwater97]

I see no reason to go shorter than 7ft on a fly rod. The dynamics of casting become much more difficult as you go down in length as your lever gets shorter. I have a 7.5 foot 4wt Orvis Superfine that is pretty much my go-to rod on the Met for winter dry fly fishing. One small piece of advice when going to a shorter rod, make sure that the action is on the slow side of (s l o w). This will help with your roll casts and make it much more of a pleasure to cast in general.

Good Luck.

Mark

[garyk]

With quality flygear being so cheap these days, why limit yourself?

A short rod like the ones you mention are nice on small streams. Down in Monmouth, Richard Bunse was rebuilding old inexpensive cane rod tips into little cutthroat stream rods.

For springcreeks, an old Orvis 8'3" first generation graphite, moderate action is still my fave, slow for precision slack line casts but has enough guts for me to make long semi-steeple casts needed on the Holy Water's west bank rip rap.

Ten footers are nice for rollcasting and steeple casts when your back's against the brush in some of the Metolius's hike-in places.

I also like a 10' moderate Scott for highstick nymphing on the Deschutes and lake fishing.

One rod won't do it all .... get a bunch!

[leadeyedbugger]

On the Metolius i like a moderate to slow action shorter rod for presenting dry flies. somewhere in the 7.5 to 8.5ft 3-5wt range. Something that you can accuratly and softly present a dry fly. The currents are such that it is hard to get a drag free drift with much more then 40ft of line out so a longer, bigger rod isn't needed....unless your roll casting. I don't nymph the met but if i did i would go with a 9-10ft 5-6wt rod that you can roll cast well. But like gary said, variety is the spice of life...you ALWAYS need more rods:cheers:

[Bad Drift]

Thanks for the advice, folks. I think I like leadeyebugger's response the best (unfortunately). More rods may be the ticket!

[scottishsetter]

I was told lately that the secret to fishing off a pontoon is the long rod 9'
makes it easier to keep it in the air instead of dipping it on the backcast.